


New [gay] Opportunities

by ghostfruit



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, F/F, M/M, Multi, Trans Character, Trans Dave Strider, Trans Karkat Vantas, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 08:48:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9227597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostfruit/pseuds/ghostfruit
Summary: “Hey, what do you know about the new kid, Karkat Vantas?”“Karkat? He’s a pretty cool dude, really angry though. Why?” John answers back.“I don’t know, I want to be his friend, hopefully more… Oh, don’t look at me like that, he’s cute. Fuck that, he’s completely adorable,”“Gay.”“Thanks Egderp”---It's a pretty generic highschool au tbh but its basically Dave being head over heels for the new kid Karkat and they're both awkward and oblivious





	

**Author's Note:**

> So, I just felt the need to write a nice non angsty au with trans davekat bc i relate to them a lot and there is a distinct lack of trans guys (like me) in mainstream (or even non mainstream) media.  
> this is un betad and btw english is not my first language so constructive criticism is great! the mile story is true, it happened to me last year.  
> hope you enjoy this!

“Dave.”

 

“Dave!”

“Huh?” A hand shakes you from your reverie. As you snap your head from the doorway to your friend, you says “Oh, sorry ‘Rezi, I was just thinking.”

Terezi grins, her pointed nose crinkling as she snorts, the half-laugh muffled by her cup. “Since when do you think? I feel like you’d need a brain for that.”

“Haha, real funny,” you reply, glancing back towards the door.

“Whatcha lookin’ at cool kid?” she asks, following your line of sight until her eyes land on a pair of unfamiliar teenagers, a short boy with darkish olive skin, and a tall girl with impeccable jade lipstick. You aren’t sure how she knows that the new kids are standing there, but you’ve long since learned not to question her. “Aw, does Davey have a crush on one of the new kids?”

“Shut up ‘Rezi, I don’t have a crush, I’m just… interested,” you chide.

“You should talk to him! You haven’t been interested in someone in ages, and I don’t count the casual flirting with random strangers,” she says. As she picks up her cane and stands, she whacks you on the back with the bottom of it. “Do it, do it!”

“Chill out, I’ll talk to him in class if I see him. Gotta keep it cool and casual,” you proclaim.

“Of course, I would expect nothing less from someone so smooth,” she calls out behind her, cackling between the tapping of her cane.

You sigh, grabbing your bag and slinging it over your shoulder before heading to English class. You head to your normal seat from the year before, the classroom and schedule familiar, and rest your head on your hand, calling out a, “Here,” in response to the teacher’s roll call. You’re interrupted from your routine by your teacher announcing, “Oh! I almost forgot, please say hello to Karkat Vantas. He’s a new student this year, please make him feel welcome!”

You glances up, and your eyes meet the muddy red ones of the boy from before. _Karkat, huh? Cute_ , you think to yourself.

Your teacher, Ms. Harp, continues, and smiles, “Karkat, you can take a seat anywhere you want!”

You scan the room, quickly noticing that the only seat left is the one next to you. It seems that Karkat realizes this at the same time, and he frowns, trudging over to the desk and plopping into his seat. You turn to face him, telling him, “Hey, Karkat, right? The name’s Dave Strider,” with a smirk dancing on your lips.

Karkat stares at you for a second, seemingly unimpressed. After a moment, he glares at him. “Fuck off, Strider.”

Disappointed, you turns back to your work as Karkat ignores you, occasionally glaring at the back of your head and scoffing. This pattern continues until the welcome arrival of bell, where you gather your things and moved to the next class, where, thankfully, you would see Terezi, as well as your sister Rose.

* * *

 As you near them, you tell them, “Well, are you happy now? I took your advice and talked to him and now he hates me! I didn’t even do anything!”

“Chill, dude, what happened?” Terezi says, staring blankly at you through her red glasses. You sigh, settling into your seat.

“So, there weren’t any other seats left, so he sat with me, and I introduced myself, right, like a normal person. Well, I may have winked at him, but it was a normal greeting!” You whine at her. Rose pipes up from behind her,

“It sounds like something you said set him off, brother dearest. Whatever it was might not have seemed like a big deal to you, but it probably was for him. You should try and speak with him concerning the misunderstanding whenever you next see him.”

“Always the ever so helpful therapist, aren’t you, Rose…” you mutter. “But hey, you have a point. I’ll talk to him about it. Thanks guys.”

“Anytime, Dave,” Rose says, while Terezi yells out, poking him on the nose, “You’re such a drama queen.”

“First of all, there’s no need to be so loud about this, I don’t want him finding out from a random classmate. Not until I tell him,” you whisper in reply.

“Anyways, moving on from your relationship woes, even though you, Dave may be preoccupied with Karkat, Rose, I couldn’t help but notice your wistful looks towards his friend, the girl sitting in the front corner,” Terezi teases.

Rose sighs, the corner of her mouth twitching upwards, “Kanaya Maryam… apparently she’s friends with Karkat.”

“Well, I think you two would be great together. Here’s to a hopefully good year with new… opportunities. Very, very, gay ones,” you say.

“Well, I don’t need any extra luck, I already have Vriska!” Terezi exclaims.

“Yeah, yeah, we know all about your terrifying girlfriend. At any rate, I am _very_ excited to learn more about the cute new boy that sits next to me in English class,” you chuckle.

* * *

The next day, when you arrive in English, Karkat is already there, engrossed in a book, and either ignores you, or simply doesn’t notice you as you sits down. You greet him kindly, “Hey, Karkat, how are you doing?”

Karkat just keeps on reading, giving no semblance of acknowledgment. You consider whether or not you should keep prodding, but decide against it, hoping not to antagonize him.

* * *

 After school, you meet up with John at his place to play video games, the two of you bickering over your most recent win, or, annihilation.

“Come on dude, why do you keep winning?” John says in exasperation. You chuckle, setting your controller down on the couch next to you.

“Well, it’s not my fault you suck at Mario Kart, Egderp,” you says, laughing again at John’s off put look. “Hey, what do you know about the new kid, Karkat Vantas?”

“Karkat? He’s a pretty cool dude, really angry though. Why?” John answers back.

“I don’t know, I want to be his friend, hopefully more… Oh, don’t look at me like that, he’s cute. Fuck that, he’s completely adorable,”

“Gay.”

“Thanks Egderp”

“Nah, good luck with him bro, seriously,” John says sincerely, still looking slightly shocked.

* * *

Later on, towards the end of gym class, you walk up to Karkat, where he’s standing in the corner, grumbling to Kanaya about something or other. As you get closer to them, you hear snippets of their conversation.

“Kanaya, why do I have to do gym? It’s bullshit, I want to go home,” he whines, slumping over sadly.

“Hey Karkat, what’s up?” you ask him.

“Go away, Strider,” he says, without looking at you. Kanaya gently puts her perfectly manicured hand on his shoulder, gently chiding him,

“Karkat, be nice,” she turns towards you and continues, “Dave, correct? I have heard about you from Rose, as well as Kar –” Karkat cuts her off, putting his hand over her mouth.

“I agree with you, Karkat, gym class is stupid, it sucks that they grade people on our ‘athletic prowess’, even if you are at a disadvantage,” you say to him.

“Exactly! That’s what I’m saying!” He seems to caught up in his anger on the issue to notice that he is no longer ignoring you.

“Just last year, they made me run the mile even though I told them that I couldn’t do it with my binder. They even had the nerve to tell me to just wear a bra. I ran it, and then I collapsed after it and had to go the hospital because of broken ribs. That sure showed them…”

“Your … binder?” Karkat says, a question clear in his tone.

“Yeah, it’s a thing used to keep my chest–”

“I know what it is, I wear one too, I just didn’t know you did and that you’re trans too,” he says, studying your face. His cheeks start turning red, and as the bell loudly goes off, signaling the end of class. As he scurries away, you stare after him, thinking to yourself that you just have to see that pretty flush again.

* * *

 As you’re walking to the cafeteria to meet up with your friends, you spot Karkat ducking through the crowded halls. Quickly, you rush towards him and shout out his name. The shorter boy speeds up, almost running now. You yell for him again, to no avail, so you reach your hand out and grabs the other’s, spinning him around to face you.

“What the fuck is your problem, Strider? Leave me alone!” Karkat shrieks at you. Still gently holding onto his arm, you quietly say, “I – I just wanted to ask if you wanted to come sit with me and my friends at lunch? You can bring Kanaya, I know my sis would like that.”

He debates for a few long seconds, before responding, “Ugh, fine, he groans, loudly yelling, “Kanaya! Come on!”

When you near the table where you and your friends always sit, you introduce him and Kanaya to everyone. “Hey, guys, is it alright if Karkat and Kanaya sit with us?”

They all nod, and you say, “Great! Karkat, Kanaya, that’s John, he’s a nerd–”

“Hey!”

“That’s Rose, my sister, Jade, she’s a fucking furry, Terezi, she’s a blind chick who eats red, and her bitch of a girlfriend, Vriska,” you say, motioning to each of them in turn as you introduce them.

“Go die in a hole, Strider,” Vriska deadpans from her seat with her arm around Terezi’s shoulder.

“Love you too Serket,” you cut back, blowing her a kiss.

“Hi Karkles!” Terezi grins at him, “You taste like dirty pavement.”

“Taste? What the fuck?”

“Just don’t ask,” John cuts in.

Kanaya primly takes a seat across from Rose, who smiles at her as they quickly strike up a conversation. You scoot over, making room for Karkat next to you. While he’s looking away, John wiggles his eyebrows at you. You flip him off, turning your attention back to Karkat.

“So, Karkat, what book were you reading earlier, in English class?” you inquire.

“Fifty Shades…” Kanaya mutters, frustrated, from the other end of the table. You turn incredulously towards him,

“Seriously?” you say.

“It’s not that bad!” he yells, indignant.

“I’ll take your word for it,” you snigger.

* * *

Hours later, after school is over and the clock has long passed midnight, you go to bed, your thoughts still filled with thoughts of Karkat.

* * *

You still don’t talk much. Karkat and Kanaya sit with them at lunch, and you and Karkat work together in English, making small talk but nothing particularly deep. You still try, of course, the more you talk to him, the deeper you go. With every conversation, you fall for him a little bit more.

“Hey, Karkat,” you say.

“What, Strider,” he huffed.

“Your hair looks nice,” you tell him. You mean it too, his curling dark locks are falling into his eyes as he turns to look at you. He opens his mouth, as if to retort, but stops himself, blushing, muttering the word, “Thanks,” quietly. The way he says that one word, you love it, it’s nervous, quiet, and just a little scratchy. You smile at him, not a smirk or fake smile, but a genuine one that you reserve for only the best of people. You almost hope he knows that, but that’s silly.

It’s been a week since you first told him his hair looked nice, and you prepare for the usual class routine, but before you can compliment him, he startles you, saying, “Strider,”

“Hey Karkat,” you say, slightly surprised that he is starting conversation.

“Your shirt looks good on you,” he manages to stammer out, looking down at the floor. You’re sure that, to anyone watching their exchange, there would be stars in your eyes, behind the shades. You swallow the knot in your throat and ignore the fluttering in your stomach, and start to open your mouth to thank him, but before you can, he tells you, “Shit I’m sorry Kanaya told me I should compliment you back fuck fuck fuck just forget I said anything,”

You stop him before he can keep rambling. “Hey, hey, it’s fine! I was gonna say thanks,” you tell him, smiling, your cheeks warm as you do so.

“Thanks, you too, uh,” he stumbles over his words, “Fuck um I meant you’re welcome?”

* * *

An hour later and you still can’t stop thinking about Karkat Vantas

* * *

 As soon as you see your friends in class, you rush up to them to fill them in on the almost flirtatious events.

“Guys holy fuck guess what happened in English,” you tell them between breaths.

“Lemme guess; Karkat something or other,” John says.

“What else?” Terezi snarks back.

“Shut up you two, no need to tease a guy. So, you know how I’ve been lowkey flirting with him lately?” you say.

“Yeah it’s ridiculous the tension is unbelievable,” Jade responds, adjusting her dog ears.

“He complimented me back!!” you say excitedly.

“That doesn’t sound like something he’d do…” John objects.

“I don’t know, he said something about Kanaya’s advice?” you speculate.

“I’ll mention it to her,” Rose says.

“Oh, so you two are ‘friends’ now?” you tease, with full on air quotes on the word friends.

“I’ll have you know that she is lovely and I quite enjoy spending time with her,” she confides.

“Good for you sis, she’s good for you” you approve. As soon as you say this, Kanaya walks up, Karkat in tow.

“Who’s good for her?” Kanaya wonders.

Rose blushes and protests vehemently, “No one, nothing, just ignore him,”

“Oh, alright…” she says. She sits down next to Rose, and Karkat takes a seat across from her. She pulls out bottle of nail polish from who knows where, and starts painting Karkat’s nails. As the crimson polish begins to cover his nails, you can’t help but stare. That shade of red is a good color on him. You also notice that the polish seems to go only exactly where she wants it to, the nails are practically perfect without even trying.

It seems others notice as well, as Jade excitedly asks, “Ooh! You’re so good at this Kanaya, would you mind doing mine next?”

“Absolutely, Jade, what color would you like?” Kanaya answers gracefully.

“Hmmm,” she considers for a second, “jade!” she giggles.

Kanaya cracks a smile, “Of course.”

You turn to Karkat, who sits by your side, admiring his new polish.

“That color looks nice,” you tell him kindly.

“Oh, thanks,” he says, his cheeks nearing the color of his nails. _Cute,_ you think to yourself. _What a cute boy_.

* * *

At home, you talk with Rose about what to do next. You really really want to get to know the short cutie, but you don’t want to make him feel awkward.

“Hey, Rose?”

“Yes David?”

“What should I do about Karkat?”

“Well, it seems like you are doing alright now, doesn’t it?”

“I want to invite him over or something, I don’t know, but I feel like it’s too soon…”

“Why don’t we just invite all our friends over, a get together, or a party, if you will,”

“That’s… actually a good idea…” you say.

“Wonderful, we can invite them over this weekend. Now, I am going to go invite the lovely Kanaya to the mall after school tomorrow.”

“Have fun on your date.”

* * *

“Hey party people,” you say as you slam your hand on the table and lower your shades using the other. “You’re all invited to come over to the Striderlonde residence for various teenage party shenanigans, I’ll text y’all the deets.”

“I can’t believe that you used the words shenanigans and deets in the same sentence. I am disappointed to call you my brother,” Rose tells you.

“Love you Rosie.”

* * *

The weekend arrives faster than you ever thought possible, even with all the anticipation leading up to it. Jade and John have already arrived and are furiously playing Super Smash Bros while Rose lounges on the couch next to them. You’re not sure where Terezi and Vriska went, probably up to something, but you don’t worry about it. You open the door to find Karkat and Kanaya standing on your welcome mat, Kanaya holding a single rose.

“Hello MTV and welcome to my crib,” you say, finger gunning at Karkat.

“What the fuck,” he asks.

“Ignore him,” Jade yells over the sound of John failing miserable at video games. Kanaya walks over to Rose and presents it to her, telling her, “This rose doesn’t nearly compare to you.” _Smooth, Kan, smooth_.

You guide Karkat to the living room to join the others, and you yell out for Terezi and Vriska to come down. You suggest that you start off with a movie, and in a flash, John and Vriska have banded together to try and convince you all to watch anything with Nicholas Cage. You protest this idea earnestly.

You honestly can’t remember what movie you ended up watching, some horror movies, because halfway through the marathon, Karkat leans his head onto your shoulder, and you tense up. He nuzzles into your jacket, and you decide, _fuck it_ , and put your arm around him.

* * *

 Hours later, he’s still there, softly snoring, and damn it if this isn’t the most uncomfortable sleeping position ever, but it’s worth it.

* * *

 You remember that he mentioned that he wears a binder, and even though everyone else is asleep and you want to as well, you shake him awake softly.

“Karkat,” you tell him as he grumbles awake

“Huh?” he says, rubbing his tired eyes.

“You should take your binder off.”

“Wow, so forward,” he says, glaring.

“I meant, you shouldn’t sleep in it, I took mine off before you fell asleep, but I thought I should remind you…”

“That’s… actually really nice of you, thanks,” he says, flushing prettily.

“Anytime Karkat, anytime.”

* * *

You’re almost giddy after the mini halloween party/movie marathon, but high school can ruin even the happiest feelings. You had forgotten how terrible it was because of the success at the party. You hate high school

“I hate high school,” you mutter to yourself. Karkat, sitting next to you, hears you, and says,

“Me too, Strider, me too.”

“Well, seeing you makes it more bearable,” you say.

“Shut up.”

“Ok.”

* * *

 “Thanks,” Karkat tells you out of nowhere one day.

“For what?” you wonder aloud.

“Um, the party, where you…” he trails off mid sentence.

“Oh, yeah, uh, you’re welcome.”

* * *

You two sit there in silence for an awkwardly long time, until you break it by asking him,

“So, do you want to maybe come over and, I don’t know, watch a movie, or play some video games or something?”

“I – yeah, that sounds good, I can come home with you after school tomorrow?”

“That sounds perfect,” you smile at him.

* * *

You meet up with him at the main entrance after classes are over, where your Bro is waiting in his car. You pile into the back seat with Karkat, since the front is filled with smuppets. Awkward.

“Is this your dad?” Karkat whispers to you.

“Nah, this is my bro, Dirk. Bro, this is Karkat, he’s new,” you say to Karkat, then introduce him to Dirk.

“Hi Mr. Strider,” Karkat says.

“Call me Bro.”

“Um… Alright,” he says, questioning.

* * *

You get to your house pretty quickly, you drop your stuff by the door, and notice Karkat looking at the mantle, where your family pictures are.

“Who are they?” he asks, pointing at a picture of you, Rose, Dirk, Roxy, Calliope, Jane, as well as your dad and Rose’s mom. One by one, you tell him,

“Well, you know Rose and Dirk, that’s Roxy, our older sister, and her two girlfriends, Calliope and Jane, and that’s my dad with Rose’s mom.”

At his look of confusion, you explain further,

“Rose and Roxy are my half siblings.”

He nods in understanding.

“Hey, little man, I’m gonna head out, be safe you two,” Dirk yells out as he grabs his keys.

“Do you want to watch a movie? You can pick,” you tell Karkat, heading to the living room.

Karkat chooses some cheesy romcom. It’s ridiculous, but you love the way Karkat’s eyes light up as he gushes about his favorite scenes. You put your arm around him, mimicking the position from the weekend before.

He looks at you, and stares into your eyes. Your breath catches in your throat as you open your mouth to say something, anything, but you bite lip your lip. He looks at you for a split second more, his gaze flickering between your eyes and your lips.

He moves forward until you can feel his breath on your face and see each one of his freckles, and you stay this way for what seems like an eternity while the movie plays behind you.

He moves forward impulsively, pressing his lips against yours.

The only thought running through your mind is _wow, his lips are so soft_. You slowly move back against him, moving your lips in tandem with his.

He breaks away from you after a second.

“I – I have to go. I’m sorry.”

He grabs his bag and rushes out his door, almost tripping over his feet

* * *

“What just happened,” you whisper aloud to yourself, the movie still playing.

* * *

You and Karkat haven’t spoken in two weeks

“Karkat and I haven’t spoken in two weeks,” you solemnly tell Rose while you drink your.

“What did you do this time,” she asks.

“I didn’t do anything wrong! We were hanging out, I put my arm around him, and then he kissed me!”

“Maybe you’re just a bad kisser,” John cuts in from the seat behind you and Rose.

“Wow, thanks. And no, that’s not it, the kiss was amazing, but afterwards he just ran off,” you say.

“Again, you need to talk to him.”

“Alright Ms. Lalonde.”

* * *

After working for hours and hours on your new mix in your room, you head to the kitchen to grab some AJ, but stop mid step when you see your sister and Kanaya making out rather… passionately… on the couch.

“Ahem…” you clear your throat. They break apart awkwardly.

“Oh, how nice to see you, David…” Rose says, trying to smooth her mussed hair and wipe the smudges from her lipstick.

“Nice to know that you two have finally stopped beating around the bush,” you tell her, smirking.

“Yes, well, I am quite happy with my new girlfriend,” Kanaya tells both you and Rose.

“You have fun with… that. I’m heading back to work,” you say as you open the fridge and grab your juice.

You’re happy for them, you just wish things would work out like that for you and Karkat.

* * *

Karkat goes up to you after class, wringing his hands together as he tries to tell you, “I’m sorry for, um, you know, at your place. It was a mistake, and, uh, yeah,”

Your heart breaks a little at those words, but you ignore it for his sake, “No problem Karkles, it’s all good, we can still be friends, though, right?”

“Sure,” he says, blushing.

* * *

You and Karkat are talking again, but he’s acting really weird

“He’s acting really weird,” you think aloud.

“Who is?” Jade asks

“Karkat!” you exclaim. You’re so glad you two are talking again, platonic Karkat is way better than no Karkat, even if you’d rather the two of you were more than platonic.

“That’s rough, buddy,” Jade says.

“Quoting Avatar? Really?” you mutter.

“Let me live my life,” she responds, grinning at you. You smile back. You don’t want to ruin your other friendships just because of _your_ relationship drama.

Rose, who you thought wasn’t paying attention to you and Jade, cuts in, “What’s he doing?”

“He’s really quiet most of the time, he won’t look me in the eye, he’s been just flat out awkward…”

She gets a weird glint in her eye when she hears you.

“Hmm, sounds _very_ strange, I’ll discuss it with Kanaya, maybe she knows what is going on.”

You resolve to discuss it with him as soon as possible.

* * *

“Kanaya says she has some idea, maybe.” Rose tells me one day.

“What did she say?”

“Be grateful, it took a lot for her to tell me. She didn’t want to, but I managed to get her to spit it out.”

“Alright, yeah, sister of the year award goes to you, anyway, what did she say?”

“She says that he rants about you sometimes. She says that he used to say he hates you, but for really stupid reasons, like your skin is too nice, or your eyes are too pretty. I know, gay, right?”

“Used to?”

“I’m not sure, she didn’t elaborate. Just talk to him!”

“I know, I know, I’m planning on it.”

* * *

“Hey, Karkat?” you ask him later on.

“What do you want, Dave?” he says.

“Are you okay? You’ve been acting really weird lately, and Rose said that Kanaya said that you said you hated me,” you ask him, concerned.

“Fuck!” he mutters as he runs his hands through his mop of dark curls. “I can’t believe she told her girlfriend things I told her in confidence!”

“So, you hate me? This is awkward, because I,” you take a sharp intake of breath, “kind of maybe have hadjustalittletiny,well, massive,crushonyousincewemet.”

He gulps. “Oh, um, are you serious?” he asks you.

You start to panic even more. “WOW I shouldn’t have said that shouldn’t have said that shouldn’t have said that fuck I’m an idiot –”

“Oh shut up and kiss me, you stupid fuck,” he says, grabbing you by your collar and shoving his lips against yours. When you first break apart for air, you whisper, “Holy shit…”

“Yeah,” he agrees, smiling. You kiss him again. He tastes like cinnamon, or maybe anïs? Whatever it is, you’re addicted. You could kiss him forever.

“I –” you stop yourself for a second.

“Do you want to maybe, go on a date with me and uh be my boyfriend?” you ask him, the last part barely a whisper said a thousand miles an hour.

“Hell yes,” he says, and then leans in to kiss you again.

* * *

Your date with Karkat goes incredibly. As far as dates go, it’s fairly generic, just a dinner and a romance movie at the local theater. You even hold hands after your hands brush while reaching for the popcorn that sits between you. It’s very chaste and sweet, at least until you head back to your house and go up to your room.

“So,” you both say at the same time.

“You can start,” he tells you.

“I, um, I had a really nice time with you,” you say, almost shyly. Not that you would let anyone know that you, Dave Strider, just described yourself as _shy_.

“Me too,” he says, blushing.

* * *

The two of you just sit there in silence for a while, until he breaks it by turning his head towards you, asking,

“Do you want to make out?”

“Yes please,” you say, as you move your hands to wrap around him. After a few incredible moments, he parts his lips, and you nibble on his bottom lip. He moans prettily, and, holy shit, you have _got_ to hear that again.

You move to thread your hands through his hair, tugging on his dark curls. He moves his hands towards your waist, but he surprises you, he doesn’t stop there. His hands begin to dip down to the waistband of your jeans, and he pauses,

“Is this okay?”

“Oh, _absolutely_.”

You move your hands to his waist, sneaking under his shirt towards his chest. He freezes up for a second.

“Hey, we can stop, if you want,” you reassure him.

“We can keep kissing, but, um, is it alright if I keep my binder on?” he mumbles.

“Absolutely. If we’re being honest, I’d prefer to keep mine as well. Shirt on too?” you reply.

“That one’s okay to get rid of,” he says, grinning at you.

You move your hands back towards the hem of his shirt, fiddling before pulling it over his head and smooth your hands over his torso, making sure to avoid his chest. After all, you understand not wanting to be touched there.

“You can take mine off too, if you want.”

He does. You start kissing again, and every time your bare skin touches his, you feel warm inside. Wow, Karkat is incredible, aaaand, he’s? Pulling away?

* * *

 

“Hey, little bro, um, I just wanted to say that, Jake is coming over, so don’t go in my room for a few hours?”

“Yes, yes, now please leave and never talk to me again,” I say, hiding my face in my hands as Karkat sits there stiffly on your bed. Dirk shuts the door behind him.

“So, that was, very, very, uncomfortable…”

“Understatement of the year.”

“I should, probably get going… I had a lot of fun,” Karkat says, ducking his head down as he smiles, his cheeks red.

“I’ll see you at school?”

“Absolutely.”

* * *

You still hate high school, but it’s infinitely more redeemable now that sometimes, when you walk to class with Karkat after he stays the night, the little marks on his neck are there for the whole world to see, no matter how much he tries to hide them, and sometimes, it completely slips your mind to do your math homework because your hands are underneath your boyfriend’s shirt as his hands roam beneath your waist while you whisper sweet nothings in his ear.

* * *

 In all honesty, life is pretty fucking good.


End file.
